Aug 12

 

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FYI: Any Blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

Aug 12, 2020 Week: 33 Day: 225

86004:   H 85° \ L 51° \ Average Sky Cover: 40%

Wind:   10mph\Gusts:  17mph  Visibility:  10mi

Nearest lightning:  387mi.; Nearest active fire:  59mi. 

High Risk of Fire          

Record High: 92°[1944]   Record Low: 36°[1999]

Jul Averages: 79°\50° (9 days with rain)

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Today’s  Quote

"Before anything else, preparation is the key to success."

-Alexander Graham Bell

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Random Tidbits

Nations who were on the Gold Standard during the 19th century until 1914 experienced little or no inflationary trends.

In 1971 the U.S. under President Richard Nixon decoupled the value of the dollar from gold altogether. Now a U.S. dollar is only worth 12 cents of what it was worth in 1950.

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A little humor

How do you know the toothbrush was invented in Kentucky?

If it’d been invented anywhere else, it would have been called a teethbrush.

What differentiates a zoo in Louisiana from other zoos? The Louisiana zoo has a description of the animal on the front of the cage, along with a recipe.

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State Name Origins

Famed Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon may not have found the fountain of youth, but he is credited with naming Florida, as the first European to reach it. The region was named by de Leon in 1513 and it comes from the Spanish word "florido," which means "full of flowers."

Georgia, founded by James Oglethorpe, was named for King George II of England, who granted the colony its charter in 1732. The –‘ia’ suffix means "state of" and comes from the Greek language.

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Observations This Week

Sturgis Rally: 7-16 Link 
Elvis Week: 8-16 Link
Assistance Dog Week: 9-15  Link  Link 
Perseid Meteor Showers: 9-13
National Motorcycle Week: 9-16 Link 
Feeding Pets of the Homeless Week: 9-16 Link  Link  
National Resurrect Romance Week:9-16 
Weird Contest Week: 9-16 
Safe and Sound Week: 10-16 Link
US Amateur Golf Week: 10-16
Pueblo Revolt, New Mexico  Aug10-20, 1680

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Observations for Today

Home Sewing Machine Day

IBM PC Day
International Youth Day
Middle Child Day

Milkman Day Link 
National Julienne Fries Day
Vinyl Record Day
World Elephant Day Link

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My Rambling Thoughts

Clouds are rolling in. Hoping for moisture. Weatherman says no, but I still have hope.

I get my pedicures around 10a at the mall. Since Covid the mall opens at noon, so they now have to be afternoon ones. Not my favorite time, but different works. Always feel better after one.

Here is an interesting, and frightening statistic: There was an 80% increase in gun sales in July 2020 over July 2019.

Stunned to hear Trump say that the 1917 flu pandemic helped end WWII, since all the soldiers were sick. First, history says that the pandemic did little to end WWI, and second, WWII was in the 1940’s. That would have been a long time for soldiers to be sick.

Phoenix scores again: Yesterday hundreds of protesters, few wearing masks, marched on the capital building in Phoenix. They all wore green chanting ‘Open schools now!’. The green was for the green light to open schools. It just keeps getting crazier. DeVos has said zilch as she leads the Dept. of Education.

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Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

A horse is tied to a rope 9 meters long and the horse’s food is 17 meters away from the horse.

How does the horse reach the food?

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Historical Events

30 BC – Cleopatra VII Philopator, the last ruler of the Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasty, committed suicide, by means of an asp bite.

1851 – Isaac Singer was granted a patent (#8,294) for his sewing machine.

1883 – The last quagga, a kind of zebra, died at the Artis Magistra zoo in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 1984, the quagga was the first extinct animal to have its DNA analyzed.

1901 – The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened.

1960 – Echo 1A, NASA’s first successful communications satellite, was launched.

1977 – The first free flight of the Space Shuttle Enterprise.

1981 – The IBM Personal Computer was released.

1985 – Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashed into Osutaka ridge in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, killing 520, becoming the worst single-plane air disaster.

1990 – Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton found to date, was discovered by paleontologist Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota.

1994 – Major League Baseball players went on strike, forcing the cancellation of the 1994 World Series.

2013 Whitey Bulger is found guilty on 31 of 32 counts, and is found to have been involved in 11 murders

2014 Ebola outbreak death toll exceeds 1000

2014 World Health Organization (WHO) gives its 'cautious blessing' to the use of experimental drugs to treat the Ebola virus

2017 US President Donald Trump at a press conference at Trump Tower says “there is blame on both sides” in reference to violence in Charlottesville, provoking widespread condemnation

2019 Hong Kong International Airport cancels all departures as thousands of anti-government protesters occupy the terminals

2019 Scientists say they are closer to an effective treatment for Ebola after new drug trial has 90% success rate in Democratic Republic of Congo

2019 Beginning of the 'glitter revolution' in Mexico City when security chief showered with pink glitter in protest of violence against women after teenager raped by police

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Birthdays Today

@98 – Jane Wyatt, American actress (d. 2006)

90 – George Soros, Hungarian-American businessman and investor

@80 – Joe Besser, American actor, Stooges #5 (d. 1988)

@80 – Porter Wagoner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist d. 2007)

@78 – Norris McWhirter, Scottish publisher, and activist co-founded the Guinness World Records (d. 2004; heart attack)

@77 – Cecil B. DeMille, American director, and producer (d. 1959)

@76 – Buck Owens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006; heart attack)

@71 – John Derek, American actor, director, and cinematographer (d. 1998; heart disease)

71 – Mark Knopfler, Scottish-English singer-songwriter,  guitarist (Dire Straits)

66 – Sam J. Jones, American actor

@50 – Ross McWhirter, Scottish publisher, and activist, co-founded the Guinness World Records (d. 1975; shot by IRA activists)

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Puzzle Answer

He walks over to it. The rope is tied to the horse but nothing else.

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